Tufts CSDD Report on New Patient Recruitment/Retention Approaches

According to R&D leaders participating in a roundtable hosted by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, drug developers are innovating clinical study volunteer recruitment and retention to significantly improve clinical trial performance and efficiency. Some new approaches include using Big Data to identify and understand patient populations, engaging the “voice of the patient” in trial design, and using new technologies and social media to reach, attract, and keep patients. 

Other points made at the Tufts CSDD Executive Forum, summarized in the January Tufts CSDD R&D Management Report, released today, include the following:

• Patient-centric study teams are using real-time data to understand and adjust the patient recruitment process as it unfolds.

• Improve outreach to referring physicians, a primary conduit to clinical trial patients, as 82% of physicians say they’d be more willing to refer patients if they developed a working relationship with a clinical trial investigator.

• Social media, which already supports communication within patient communities, will grow as a recruitment tool by providing new pathways between sites and specific population groups.

• Comprehensive electronic medical records (EMRs) and health files will play a major role in patient recruitment within five years.

Read the full release.